Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki has already been ruled out of the World Baseball Classic for Team Japan due to an oblique injury.

There is currently no definite timetable for return for Suzuki. Moreover, the injury is described by the Cubs as “moderate strain,” according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

In 2022, his first season in the big leagues, Seiya Suzuki hit .262 and posted a .336 OBP along with a .433 SLG for a .770 OPS across 111 games and 446 plate appearances. Suzuki also hit 14 home runs and drove in 46 runs total, while also stealing nine bases.

Injuries have seemingly been an issue for Seiya Suzuki so far in his adventure in MLB. He missed six weeks of action in 2022 due to a finger sprain, though, that did not stop him from finishing with the aforementioned respectable numbers.

The Cubs missed the postseason in 2022 for the second year in a row after finishing just third in the National League Central Division with a 74-88 record. But with the Cubs expected to fare much better in 2023, the hope is that Seiya Suzuki will also be making a bigger contribution to the team, which would be largely dependent on how healthy he would be this year.

There is the possibility that Seiya Suzuki, who played for Japan in the 2017 edition of the WBC, would hit the 60-day injured list, but that's all speculation at the moment. A clearer picture of his injury and his timetable for return could be divulged by the Cubs when they speak to reporters this Tuesday.